Pancake making machine



H; EPSTEIN PANCAKE MAKING MACHINE Dec. 22, 1953' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 22, 1951 //V VENTOR Hyman Epsi'ez'n ATTORNEY Dec. 22, 1953 H.EPSTEIN PANCAKE MAKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 22, 1951 onI. M m w M w, w n a mm Al mm y j H v m 1 NM w a, w\ w a H: mm) 3 w 2 1?:w 3 I a ww -Il e L fmm n In mm. NW

Dec. 22, 1953 H. EPSTEIN 2,663,249

PANCAKE MAKING MACHINE aF'iled March 22, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 H ygzan Eusiem ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 22, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT-bales PANCAKEMAKING MACHINE j Hyman Epstein, Brooklyn, N. Y assignor of one- I halfto Max Levine, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application March 22, 1951, Serial No; 216,855 Claims. (Cl. 99-423)Thisinvention relates to the preparation of pancakes from amoisture-containing batter, particularly to tissue-thin pancakessuitable for blintzes.

An object of the invention is to enable the manufacture of such pancakespractically automatically, with greater efficiency and economy than thehand operations heretofore employed, and capable of mass production.

Another object is to provide a method of and means for mechanicallycooking, depositing, and slicing pancakes into uniformly thin edibleproducts of predetermined dimensions.

A further object is to provide a machine which will transform a liquidbatter into pancakes of desired thickness, deposit the same on atraveling conveyer, and cut them into a convenient size, all practicallyautomatically, to be carried away and collected by an attendant.

Briefly, the invention comprises a heated drum rotating about ahorizontal axis and passing through a pan containing the liquid batter.The heated drum collects a sufficient amount of batter on its externalsurface as it passes through the batter to produce a thin leaf ofpancake which adheres to the drum. As the heated drum revolves, the thinleaf drops onto a conveyer belt which carries the pancake away from thedrum in a continuous sheet. An oil or greasing agent is deposited on aportion of the drum prior to entry into the batter in order to preventundue adhesion between the resulting heated pancake and the drum. Areciprocating blade located above the conveyer belt slices thecontinuous pancake leaf into convenient sizes. The heat of the drum isso adjusted and the speeds of travel of the drum and conveyer belt sorelated to each other and to the operation of the reciprocating blade asto produce a pancake of desired thinness and size.

A more detailed description of the invention follows in conjunction witha drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the machine of the invention with'thedrum, reciprocating blade, heating mechanism, motor and batter tanksconcealed within a housing;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine of Fig. 1 with the housing removed;

Figs. 3 and 4 are side elevation views of Fig. 2 taken from oppositesides of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation view of the machine of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a detail showing modifications of the drum and conveyer beltfor increased mass production of pancakes. I

Throughout the figures of the drawing the same parts are designated bythe same reference numerals.

Referring to the drawings, the machine of the invention comprises aheated metal drum l0 arranged to rotate about a horizontal axis in thedirection of the arrow, and driven by an endless belt l2 from a motorll. The drum is heated in its interior in any suitable manner not shown,preferably electrically by a plurality of wires arranged parallel to theaxis of 'the drum and close to the interior surface thereof. Below thedrum is positioned a pan 'l5'into which a suitable liquid batter-ispumped by pump; from a batter storage tank 28, via tubes 20. The batterin storage tank I8- is keptcontinuously agitated by a stirring rod 24operated by-a motor 26. A lip [3 on the pan serves to return to thestorage tank those small increments of batter which overflow thepanl5.

Drum 10 is provided with a raised surface represented by dimension D(note Figs. 2 and 5) which passes into pan l5 and contacts the liquidbatter therein.

A roller 28 sitting in an oil storage can 30, contacts the raisedportion of the drum I0 before it enters pan [5, for continuouslyapplying oil or grease to the drum surface, to thereby prevent theheated batter from adhering too tightly to the drum. This oil in can 30may be cottonseed oil, for example. p

An endless conveyer belt 32 made up'for example of canvas, is driven bypulley 34 and rides on idler pulley 36 in the direction of the arrows.

A wooden idler roller 38 rests on canvas belt 32 and is adapted tolightly press upon the pancake leaf as it is'con'tinuously depositedupon the conveyer belt 32 by the heated drum It.

A reciprocating knife blade 40 mounted transversely of the belt 32 andsupported on arms 43 is intermittently raised and lowered by means of acam 42. Cam42 has a plurality of notches, for example four as shown,which permit an arm 43 to fall therein and be raised as the cam 42rotates. The blade 40 is fixedly secured to arms 4|, in turn, fixedlysecured to sleeves 44 which are free to move about stationary bar 45.'It should be noted that rotating cam 42 is mounted on the same shaft 46which'drives the conveyer belt pulley 34. Pulley 34, in turn, is drivenby a chain 48 from a sprocket wheel on the shaft which drives the drumI. It will thus be apparent that the drum I0, conveyer belt 32, andknife blade 40 are controlled by the same drive source. Their speeds ofoperation, however, are

properly related by means of selected sprockets, wheels and cam toproduce a desired rate of mass production of pancakes, coordinated withthe temperature to which the drum is heated.

The machine of the invention is mounted on suitable angle iron supports50 which support a slotted table top 52. One end of the table top 52 isindented at 54 to enable the operator to sit close to the end of thetraveling conveyer belt and collect or gather in the cut pancakes asthey arrive.

A housing 60 for the machine is shown in Fig. 1 to prevent dust fromfalling into the edible product during its process of manufacture. Adoor 62 in the front of the housing enables the operator to view theoperation of the cutting blade and provides access thereto and to. thefront end of the drum l0.

In the operation of the machine, av suitable batter made, for example,from flour, eggs and water is poured into the storage tank 18 where itis continuously stirred =01 agitated. This batter is then sucked up intothe pan l through the tubes 20. The raised portion D of the heated drum,as it rotates, contacts the batter in pan 15, as a result of which thebatter adheres to the raised portion D and forms a leaf. This leaf is aswide as the portion D and, is made to drop on the traveling conveyerbelt 32 on the other side of the drum .in a continuous operation. Theoil in pan l5 prevents the leaf from adhering to the drum too tightly.It should :be understood, however, that at :the start of operations, theleaf is deposited :by hand onto the traveling belt, after which thepancake leaf .fiows in a continuous manner-over the belt 32. v

It will be apparent that the thickness-of the pancake lea-f will dependto some extent on the temperature of the heated drum and its speed ofoperation, and that the size of the pancake cut by the knife blade inwill also depend en the speed of pulley 34, the construction of the dim,and the number of its cut-out port-ions or notches.

one embodiment of a machine made in accordance with the, invention andas illustrated in Figs. :1 ton, thednum :l-O was heated to a temperatureof 15091 and :made one complete revolution in 1. /2 minutes. The drumwas 6.49/2 inches wide and the raised portion D was 7 inches wide. Thetraveling 'conveyer belt was 9% inches wide and had an effective lengthioi about 4 2 inches between pulleys (one-half overall length). Thepancake lea-f deposited on the canvas belt was about 1 5" thicka-nd wascut into portions about 7 /2 inches long. Gbviously, the temperature andspeed of the drum" can be varied to suit different conditions.

A modification of the details of the heated drum and the conveyer belt.is shown in Fig. :5,

wherein the drum -Hi is shown as having two raised portions each adaptedto contact liquid,

batter in a suitably sized pan not shown. The belt 32 is-madesufiicientlywide to accommodate the continuously deposited leafs iromthe enlarged drum. .Such+a:;modification should enable a larger massproduction of pancakes.

I claim:

1. A pancake making machine comprising a single drum mounted to rotateabout a horizontal axis, means for heating solely said drum in theinterior thereof, a pan open at the top and positioned at the bottom ofsaid drum so that said drum passes through the top part of said pan inits rotational path of travel, means for supplying batter to said panfor contacting said drum, a smooth conveyer belt positioned adjacent toand only on one side of another portion of said drum for collecting thepancake resulting from the heating of the batter contacting said drumand the dropping of said pancake from said drum, and means for drivingsaid belt at a speed not in excess of the speed of said drum. 7

2. Apancake making machine in accordance with claim 1, including rollermeans engaging said drum for continuously and automatically supplying anoily substance to the entire effective surface of said drum as itrotates to prevent undue adhesion of said batter to said drum.

3. A pancake making machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein. saidconveyer belt is a fabric belt, there being a storage tank below thelevel of said drum, means including a pump for supplying batter fromsaid storage tank to said pan, a roller contacting the exterior surfaceof said drum on a horizontal line in the rotational path of said drumprior to the point of contact of said drum with the batter in said pan;-and another pan open at the top and mounted below said roller forsupplying an oily substance to said roller to thereby prevent undueadhesion of said batter to said drum.

4. A pancake making machine in accordance with claim 1, including camactuated cutting means mounted to one side of said drum and positionedabove said conveyer belt for intermittently slicing said pancake whiletraveling on said conveyer belt.

5. A pancake making machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein saiddrum has a cylindrical raised portion symmetrically arrangedintermediate both sides thereof for contacting the batter in said pan,said raised portion being the only :par-tof said drum which :contactsthe batter in said pan.

HYMA N EPSTE'IN.

References Gited .in the .fi'le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date Re. 22,399 Fonken Dec. 7, 1,943 623,143 Doty Apr. 18,1.89.9 87.1,69 Streich Nov. 19, 1907 1,332,926 Mitchell June 28, 19211,550,183 Sonsthagen Aug. .18., 1925 1,647,594 Weaver et .al. Nov. 1,1927 1,802,842 Segrin Apr. 2.8, 1931 2,001,116 Smith May 14,, 1935Number Country Date 132,143 Great Britain Sept. '11, 19-19 764,518France Mar. 5, 1934

